December 18 2007
Gourmet Food Store Lets Rip At Client Via Email
posted by Ana Samways at 9:58 am
Just like the marquee company who called their client’s wedding ‘cheap and tacky’ in an email, the owner of the Gourmet Food Store Margaret McHugh shows little restraint in an email with one of her clients…
Trying to organise a function, Hayley from Ray White Real Estate in Auckland was politely querying the quote, and other details of her order, when she got this terse reply from Margaret:
“You placed an order last Thursday and have NEVER confirmed your order for Monday AFTER 3 emails. You asked for a quote which you were given then queried the prices against the website. Why ask in the first place. May I suggest you read the Home page of our site regarding pricing.
“I personally don’t have the time or inclination to sit on the computer all day playing email ping pong. Please confirm your order by 9am this morning some 7 hrs before the function begins TELEPHONE XXXXXXX otherwise I will take it that the order is no longer required the QUOTE IS $9.00 PER PERSON. (at this late stage chicken drumsticks will not be an option Thai chicken cakes or mini chicken satays will be) AND MAY I SUGGEST YOU COLLECT YOUR OWN STRAWBERRIES. We are a very busy catering company who has given you very good service in the past and will not be treated in this off hand manner business is business. This job if goes a head will be cash on delivery or payed by credit card. Incidentally we are going to be selling our house very soon and question your companies professional practises if this incident is anything to go by. Regards Margaret.”
Hayley replied:
“That is the rudest email I have received in a long time.
We will not be requiring your services again.”
To which Margaret responded:
“Get into the real world young lady if you ever attain the position to be self employed you may understand hard working successful business people don’t make it hiding behind late floods of emails. Not having the fortitude to call by telephone tells me your incrusted in your sit down loads of spare time job.
“Re rudest email tells me you once again you are not in the real world and haven’t fully matured but it will happen. You were probably bottle feed till late teens.
“I just have so much fun with time wasters. Have a great party shame you will have to pay so much more for it. I will hopefully be calling your boss before Christmas re our not listing our property with Ray Whites I am sure they will be interested and could give you more to do. And you thought my first email was rude. I expect you still believe in Santa Clause.”
December 18th, 2007 at 11:40 am
Classic. I particularly like the fact Margaret suggested Hayley read the front page of The Gourmet Food Store website. Not a good idea unless you like being blinded by blinking text. What a joke.
December 18th, 2007 at 12:10 pm
Hah – 3 hours after you posted this I got it by email – but it came via 30 people, including companies such as Telecom and KPMG and each of those people copied at least 5 people (if not their whole office!!!) Silly lady
December 18th, 2007 at 1:13 pm
The internet is a wonderful thing. Thank you for posting this.
@blinky – yes, that website is totally fugly!
December 18th, 2007 at 1:15 pm
text-decoration: blink
Noooooooooo!!!!!!!!!
AND MAY I SUGGEST…. that you check your spelling and grammar? Mine is bad but hers is just appalling.
December 18th, 2007 at 1:32 pm
That website is hideous. Poor Hayley – no wonder she couldn’t find the prices. I got fed up after 2 minutes! She probably needed the quote in writing – my boss would require that, so I’d be emailing too.
Margaret also has an issue with grammar and spelling …
December 18th, 2007 at 1:45 pm
Grammar, spelling and fugly website design aside, the thing that really bugs me is her baby-boomer bullying of Hayley because of her assumed youthful age; along with a threat of not listing her property with Ray White. “I see you are a woman of property Margaret, let me bow at your feet.”
The full exchange of emails makes it clear it was a totally unprovoked attack.
Never lose your rag in writing!
December 18th, 2007 at 2:16 pm
[...] Go over to Spare Room and read this e-mail exchange involving the Gourmet Food Store. [...]
December 18th, 2007 at 2:48 pm
Hahahaha! If this stupid woman’s ugly amateur web site is any indication of her ‘taste’, then I would hate to have to eat her food.
I’d say Hayley from Ray White has been spared having to spend her Christmas in the dunny!
December 18th, 2007 at 3:02 pm
Bwahahaha! Brilliant. I hope Margaret McHuge sees this.
December 18th, 2007 at 3:41 pm
I’d go insane trying to read the conditions on the website, so I don’t blame Hayley for not being able to! I got the email this afternoon – and I never get these chain things, so if I have it, it must be everywhere by now…
December 18th, 2007 at 3:50 pm
poor hayley, as if organising a crimbo function isn’t difficult enough.
December 18th, 2007 at 4:06 pm
Really Marg is just plain rude and condescending. Really no excuse, her comments was unprovoked and really she deserves this email going around the whole country. How stupid can you get. And I notice the website is being hit massively today. The counter looks like it’s going to break!
December 18th, 2007 at 4:15 pm
[...] ** The email that’s being referred to below has been published at The Spare Room. Posted by Lovely Food // Filed in Prepared food, Bakery and Cakes, mediterrannean [...]
December 18th, 2007 at 4:21 pm
By the look of Marg she has eaten all the food so the rude email is a cover up for nothing left to sellLMAO
December 18th, 2007 at 4:35 pm
Hayley needs a smack in the ear to wake her up. Pity the food co sent the email – just gave Haley something else to do other than organise her party.
My self i would have just told Hayley to go screw when she rang up about an hour before the party to ask what was happening.
December 18th, 2007 at 4:51 pm
[...] Just like the marquee company who called their client’s wedding ‘cheap and tacky’ in an email, the owner of the Gourmet Food Store Margaret McHugh shows little restraint in an email with one of her clients… [...]
December 18th, 2007 at 5:01 pm
I’m with Barry on this one – Hayley sounds like a disorganised twit – I wouldn’t want to do business with her. On the other hand, Margaret was very silly putting this in an email. Phone-calls are much better for abusing people.
December 18th, 2007 at 5:03 pm
I am presuming that ‘Barry Bourke” is a friend of Margaret’s ??? According to what has been published above, at no point did it say that Hayley phoned up an hour before the party – and even if she did – so what ? The point has been totallt missed by both Margaret and Barry Bourke.
December 18th, 2007 at 5:03 pm
P.S. I note that Hayley’s role is “Accounts and Event Management
.” The event management part needs work.
December 18th, 2007 at 5:20 pm
I wonder if Barry Bourke & Mrs Smith are the same person as Margaret? I’m not sure what is disorganised in asking for a written quote, or what the problem with clarifying price discrepancies… What does “told Hayley to go screw” mean Barry? At any rate, it seems a majority of people seem to think threatening a client who asks for pricing is out of order!
December 18th, 2007 at 8:10 pm
Margaret, if you don’t have time to play email ping pong, why write such a nasty email yourself; pot: meet mr kettle. At least if you had made a call we would have been spared the knowledge of your appalling grasp of the English language. Maybe food is your talent rather than words, written or vocal? However I will never consider you as a provider of catering in case my guests were to receive your lack of graciousness in person. On second thoughts, I do need a new cleaner…
December 18th, 2007 at 8:28 pm
Clearly not a whole lot going on in Zealand before xmas. He said. She said. Whatever. MORE than one person sending me this today.. big news!! Woopee. Get over it.
December 18th, 2007 at 8:30 pm
Even though Hayley may have left some of the organisation a little late, this is no reaason for the unprofessionalism and rudeness demonstrated in these two. The emails are extremely rude, and the threat not to list with Ray White seems like bullying.
December 18th, 2007 at 8:31 pm
They are both stupid, but this food lady needs to calm the hell down.
1st point you notice at the start she used proper grammar and spacing out of her words and it just diminished. Were you were eating too much hashcakes and got it all over your keyboard?
2nd point
Margaret talked her down like a complete dog when she herself are one its not her fault that your site looks like utter crap even a 6yearold child could do that,her prices sections sucks and navigating around. she says she has 30years as a chief? but 30secs at making a website.
Quoted in saying”Not having the fortitude to call by telephone tells me your incrusted in your sit down loads of spare time job.” my reply… You do not the fortitude in spelling or having computer skills nor will anyone would want date you except your pet dog who sniffs you crusty toes, as hayley would have a better chance than her.
Apologise to her for your crap customer service regardless if you think she was disorganished you should of been professional but your’e too up yourself with donuts and pies that you can’t do that can’t you?
p.S invest in some computer courses would really help you thank you have a good one
December 18th, 2007 at 8:36 pm
I don’t know that Hayley was as disorganised as some seem to think – Ms McHugh berates her for not answering three emails, but in the same sentence says that Hayley did ask for a quote and then queried it against the website – maybe she was waiting for her query to be answered before she confirmed the booking? And even if she was to some degree in the wrong, that’s no excuse for Ms McHugh’s rudeness.
And that website – it pretty much ticks every box in the ‘how not to design a website’ list: blinding text colour, blinking text (I thought I was going to have an aneurysm just trying to read it), poor navigation, broken links, bad spelling and grammar – my only criticism of Hayley would probably be that she considered hiring a company unprofessional enough to put something like that on the internet!
December 18th, 2007 at 9:52 pm
I can however understand why she is out of drumsticks. Looks like she ate them all. Just damn lucky she doesn’t make pies aye
December 19th, 2007 at 1:40 am
Just got forwarded to whole string of emails from my brother, who’s living and working in London. Methinks the Gourmet Food Store is f@#ked.
December 19th, 2007 at 5:59 am
What a laugh.
The poor service from the food company is funny enough – but that website is absolutly shocking. It would have been a candidate for how NOT to do things in the 90’s. Today it’s just … stunning.
I don’t see anything disorganized in Hayley’s activity. If the lead time was too short then a decent company would simply have declined the order. There is never ever any excuse for this kind of response.
December 19th, 2007 at 6:06 am
margaret, you’re a patronising old cow…
i’ve worked in catering and food service. the client **always** phones at the last minute with dramas.
December 19th, 2007 at 6:44 am
i wander how many e-mails Margeret has had in the last couple of days…..silly cow…
December 19th, 2007 at 7:18 am
the website does say ” This site is best viewed in Internet Explorer 4.0 or higher and 800 x 600 screen resolution. “
perhaps I should downgrade to make it look good….. nah me thinks that wont help her food look appitising either
December 19th, 2007 at 7:42 am
Methinks early retirement is the best option for McHugh here – I can’t see any salvaging of business reputation after this.
And Ana, can you track the IPs of comments – because much like the Ticketek fiasco of a few years back, I’m sure that the electronic footprints of Barry and Mrs Smith would show their true colours.
Word to the not-so-wise: once you find yourself in deep PR poo poo, don’t go digging your hole deeper by continually responding.
Major meltdown – quite sad to watch really.
December 19th, 2007 at 7:52 am
Agree with everyone else. Bad publicity. It seems that there are not a lot of smarts here!
If I had that gourmet food website I would have got it changed last night ASAP to make use of the high number of hits it is getting.
It would also be smart to remove your home number, partners cellphone number, etc from your work cellphone answerphone message. (It’s turned off and goes straight to message.)
December 19th, 2007 at 8:03 am
I am guessing Margaret will be severely regretting this, the damage done to her business will be beyond repair!
December 19th, 2007 at 8:10 am
Not sure where this woman went to school but her maths and grammar certainly leave a lot to be desired. Assume the red $’s in her earlier emails are discounted prices which are $8 NOT $9 anyway. Also her “service” component certainly doesn’t exist. Wonder she has managed to stay in business this long.
December 19th, 2007 at 8:39 am
Having worked in a kitchen I can totally sympathise with McHugh, though I have the sense to rant AFTER hanging up the phone. And it is the receptionist/assistant types who are the worst, calling during service to hum and har.
Personally I can’t believe anyone at this time of year would email on a Thursday for a function next Monday and expect it to happen.
That being said it was a totally stupid response that will cost business(probably – but she got lots of free advertising?). Only Gordon Ramsey can get away with that, and Ramsey is a d!ck.
December 19th, 2007 at 8:43 am
I actually had to phone Hayley on a completely unrelated matter the day before I got the email forwarded. She sounded young, yes, but also absolutely lovely!
And to those saying she sounds disorganised – having seen the entire email exchange, and assuming it’s not doctored, I’d be querying the same thing as well. If your original quote was different to what you’d expected, you might need to have it explained and confirmed to get your boss to okay it…
And, yeah, the website is an eyesore. Ouch.
December 19th, 2007 at 8:54 am
On margaret’s side-she’s hilarious! Being an
accountant i can understand why a strawberry would cost $2-,
ie: basic cost, plus staff time to purchase, then coat in chocolate, transport
to the premises hosting the nibbles, cleaning dishes afterwards.
December 19th, 2007 at 8:56 am
Biscuit, if you bothered to click on Mrs Smith’s name you’ll see she’s not Margaret.
December 19th, 2007 at 9:04 am
These are some of the email comments our business received from Ms McHugh after we used them once (on trial for an annual contract). Gourmet Ctering is NOT recommnded by us.
GGoumet Catering emailed as follows:
I am delighted in not having to attend another old folks xxxx meeting (Editors note: our members range from 23 – 82). Everyone was fluffing about playing hosts and hospitality like it was a game show you kept us very amused. What on earth do you all do when you don’t have a meeting to go to.
I have never served such hungry folk not all of them but a great many loaded their plates as if there was no tomorrow, they must have saved up for days to attack. Some of the ladies were very nice most of the others had tickets on themselves. One man still kept coming back until I took the ham away he looked like he was one of those funeral dining crashers…..etc etc
I think this speaks for itself.
December 19th, 2007 at 9:05 am
Oh dear…
I’m in England and I’ve had this sent to me from friends back home in NZ, and in Denmark too!!
Perhaps she should take up a new career as an author – suggested first title “How to kill your own business in less than 5 minutes”.
December 19th, 2007 at 9:21 am
I’ve worked in catering, its extremely busy and stressful and people who piss around like Hayley are bloody annoying – no initiative and i bet she had to ask her boss before she wrote each email. As for the marquee couple, it was extremely rude of them to say they ‘did not like’ the marquees. People in the hospitality business are not slaves.
And i don’t see how everyone’s remarks about Margaret’s weight are appropriate.
December 19th, 2007 at 9:23 am
Listen people!
a quote = just that…a quote. it doesnt mean Hayley has confirmed any further, it says also to confirm the quote by 9am, 7 hours before the party…
a quote! does not mean hayley is obliged to make business here. either way, no self respecting ‘business owner’ should treat any cuatomer like this, i also manage events at one of the largest firms in NZ and have put the crazy food lady in the banned from future business box. I think people need to know that just because they run a business, does not mean they can throw their weight around. and i think all the event managers in NZ should refrain from doing business with this lady.
from what i see, hayley has been polite, and that deserves politeness back.
PS: apologies for my english,im in a rush and thought id read this as it has to do with my line of work.
regards
December 19th, 2007 at 9:32 am
I bet Hayley is from West Auckland – ditto the marquee couple.
December 19th, 2007 at 9:33 am
I see her website has had 2000 hits since 9.00 (now 10.30). I bet not many stayed for long. Also note the classic in the conditions: “we will not be responsible for typos and errors”. Clearly 5th form English should have prioritised over Margaret’s Home Ec.
December 19th, 2007 at 9:34 am
I have worked in catering so I know how busy it can get and just how stressful. But in saying that there is no way in hell that she should have said what she did. Where I am now I do ordering for catering and I can honestly say that quite often I get asked 30 mins before the food is needed to get a feed for many people. If I am lucky then I get a few day notice. Clearly Mrs Smith has never had to do any organising in her life, if she did she would know things can happen at the last moment. I to have gotta wonder just who Barry Bourke is. Me thinks it could be another name for the owner of the site or a really good mate. Maybe instead of throwing badly spelt and irrational emails around she should fix her site so it is more user friendly and less fit inducing.
December 19th, 2007 at 9:54 am
They were both b*#ches. Hayley for being so pedantic about pricing, while allowing days to go by without picking up the phone, confirming prices and placing the order…and Margaret for letting the stresses of her job (no doubt totally insane in the lead up to Christmas) get the better of her, and for having totally crap customer service in the first place.
December 19th, 2007 at 10:01 am
you would think as a business owner that she would have learnt by now that successful businesses exude “service, service, service”.
December 19th, 2007 at 10:41 am
Wow Rosie, I thought the class system went out with the 19th century. Feel safe behind your internet anonymity?
December 19th, 2007 at 10:42 am
Interesting that Hayley hasnt posted the initial email she sent… Through my personal experience with Ray white I found them to be the most infuriating people to deal with. Good on you Margaret!!
December 19th, 2007 at 10:52 am
From the email I received, Hayley sent the first email on “Thursday, December 13, 2007 8:57 AM” the last email she sent before the tirade was on “Friday, December 14, 2007 8:05 AM”.
That’s less than 24 hours people, how can she be accused of p!ssing around? It was margaret that waited till monday to get abusive. Perhaps he email system is of the same vintage as her website? I would have thought that a whole weekend would be enough time to prepare food for 30 people. Also as I’ve noticed younger people prefer to do things by email. So what? Just because times have changed doesn’t mean you don’t have to change with them.
December 19th, 2007 at 10:54 am
@Emma:
December 19th, 2007 at 10:55 am
Did anyone else note that the postal address for accounts payable and receivable is in Invercargill? Have all the accountants in Auckland been scared away?
December 19th, 2007 at 10:57 am
I second Emma’s thought, that Hayley has not posted anything of the original spat that drove Mararet to tell her off….wasting time, which at this time of year is very precious.
December 19th, 2007 at 11:30 am
Uhhh Mrs Smith is Idle Vice…
December 19th, 2007 at 11:52 am
Margret, You say you have been a chef for thirty years ,Well as a chef for somewhat shorter time I would be ashamed to sell that sort of (rubbish) food (by the way most of it would come from some cheap supermarket) Do all the catering industry a favor … shut up shop and go back to school.
And that is a shocking web site shut it down
December 19th, 2007 at 12:23 pm
Give it a rest…bit*hes berating bitches, who gives a damm!!!
Put them in a ring with mud, may get my attention….
December 19th, 2007 at 12:32 pm
Several of my family members have owned or ran catering businesses in the North Island, they are all retired now.
All of the good caterers are snowed under come Christmas.
The Gourmet Food Store must have something wrong if there still quoting for work this close to Christmas .I am guessing this isn’t the first person Margaret McHugh’s has burnt off in an email.
On the other hand just because you have had a couple of dinner a parties at home does not make you some sort expert on event management either.
December 19th, 2007 at 1:16 pm
Keep your eyes open. There is a part 2 floating around. [see post above]
December 19th, 2007 at 1:53 pm
that website is bad http://www.gourmetfoodstore.co.nz/ with all the free site builders around anybody could do 100 times better , with all the internet orders and enquieres on the rise every busness needs to be wary when answering, emails . theedge raido station hade both ladys answering phone mesage on that was good crack.
December 19th, 2007 at 2:02 pm
Hey tommylee are you related to her?
I see there is another of her lovely emails to another company floating around, it seems she is a serial offender. [see post above]
December 19th, 2007 at 2:03 pm
LOL the website looks like sh*t
that is all.
December 19th, 2007 at 3:20 pm
I lol’d hard, thanks Marg.
December 19th, 2007 at 3:40 pm
Just got a copy of the other email…
Seriously, how to fail Public Relations 101. She might want one of those yellow books, say “Customer Service for Dummies”.
Been watching her site counter grow from 16,000 yesterday at around 3pm to over 33,000 today. I’d say it isn’t all new business. lol
December 19th, 2007 at 3:49 pm
I have three letters for you…
PMS!!!
December 19th, 2007 at 5:50 pm
Margeret shouldnt have written it down, but I will send business her way, and avoid ray white like a barry manilow concert.
The customer is not always right.
December 19th, 2007 at 6:29 pm
If you do not want the business, there are polite and professional ways of saying ‘NO’. Someone made the point that it was an extremely tardy order for a Christmas function and possibly Ray White’s were unable to get anyone else. Hayley is not a professional event manager,I should say, but when the customer has the check book, at the end of the day you should treat them well. That is called Customer Service.
December 19th, 2007 at 6:40 pm
all i can say is
hayley is the client
honestly even when they are totally wrong, the client is never wrong
December 19th, 2007 at 7:00 pm
im confused as to what a lawyer is going to do for her? give her a slap for being so stupid…??
December 19th, 2007 at 8:46 pm
I’m completely with the catering company on this one. Asking for a quote 4 days prior to an event being held in the week before Christmas is hopeful. To leave that quote unconfirmed 7hrs before the event is extremely unprofessional. The fact the caterers were still willing to supply under these conditions show what lengths they were willing to go to to keep the customer happy.
This example of Ray Whites standard of work coupled with the belief that forwarding private emails as a way of revenge is ethical, will mean the chances of me engaging their services under any circumstances are very very slim.
At $9 a head you’re hardly playing for sheep stations.
December 19th, 2007 at 9:33 pm
Rob, to say that Hayley was “unprofessional” is quite incorrect. She is the client in this case – standards of professionality don’t apply to her – they apply to the individual providing the service. So this is not a game of “who was the most unprofessional” – Hayley didn’t need to be professional – catering is not her profession. If the caterers could not supply, they should have said so. If they could, they should have. *Either way* they should have shut up about snide remarks. Customer service 101 indeed – this woman is a serial offender.
December 19th, 2007 at 9:42 pm
Dear Rob the person aboive me
Are you really with the catering company? So if a customer came to you 4days quote prior before an event and being disorganised you would treat them like crap? How is that vaild and right?….Answer me that.
That’s not delievering customer service its delivering customer crap may Margret needs to go on a Communcation/Customer Service/computers course.
How is it private? If i gave her an email on my personal one ill send it to everyone if it was treated like utter crap i would forward the bitch’s email around New Zealand and the world its the internet for crying out loud..
All she wanted was a quote for some food etc
You stated under these conditions they tried to keep the customer happy? Yeah sure they did after they pissed them off did they go hey buddy im really sorry you see its my time of month and im being a real bitch sorry about that…..no…..
I’m with Ray Whites Company they have a better website then her’s is utter shit, who cares about getting your services rob their are probably 10 people waiting to sell their house to raywites i would espically at least i know they wont though a fit like a kid at a supermarket. This just shows that those self employed businesses people not to be so up themselves.if your one than you can get stuff as well.
December 19th, 2007 at 10:32 pm
I think that both Hayley and Margaret are in the wrong. I’m not in the food industry but i can sympathise with Margaret that she could be mad at Hayley for the last minute notice and for not replying to Margaret’s emails even 7 hours before the event.. but still Margaret should not have said most of the things in her emails.
Beware everyone.. emails are very powerful and potentially destructive tools
December 20th, 2007 at 1:46 am
This email has made it over to us in South Africa. I wonder if all this bad press will benefit Margaret in the long term. If she was sooooo busy then she shouldn’t have the time to write long expansive emails with no point other than to humiliate the customer.
December 20th, 2007 at 3:44 am
[...] Perhaps it’s something that Margaret McHugh should thinking about doing a little more often, after doing this not once, but twice. [...]
December 20th, 2007 at 10:32 am
The only person in the wrong here is Marg. Did she not realise that any order, for anything can not be confirmed until the pricing has been confirmed?? I would never confirm anything until I know exactly what I will be paying for at the end of the event, and only if I have this in writing!! Yet Marg continued to pay “email ping pong” with Hayley chasing confirmation at the same time abusing her. What I would have done, and what I suspect Hayley did was, after the first abusive email, I would have sourced another supplier at such short notice (it can always be done sometimes cheaper as well), ignored all other emails from McHugh, confirmed the new order with the new caterer and then replied to McHugh saying “We will not be requiring your services again.” That way she would have covered all bases incase she couldn’t find another caterer. And to those who think 4 days is insufficient time to organise a function, in particular a function for only 30 people – get real. It can be done in 4 hours! It may mean having to go down to a bakery yourself and slicing the food up but 4 days is ample time, regardless of it being Christmas. I organised a christmas dinner for 40 people last week with 5 days notice and had to book different aspects from caterers a bakery and a hire place for the plates and tables. But that’s why I get paid well I guess.
December 20th, 2007 at 11:12 am
I agree with many comments above, the foodstore website is clunky, unintuitive and extremely ugly!
December 20th, 2007 at 12:13 pm
Wow..tMargret has done for catering what Basil Fawlty (John Cleese) did for hotels.
December 20th, 2007 at 12:54 pm
I think ALL would be interested to know this was not her first offence. I received this morning by email yet another email conversation that took place in September and to no surprised our friend Margaret was again RUDE,and somewhat racist this time. Where does this woman get off! I hope her company does go down the drain now, no person should have to deal with such an un-cooth person who continues to express herself as a “professional”. Time to give up the day job old Margi and perhaps think about taking a lession in “class and Tact”. merry christmas to all!
December 20th, 2007 at 1:32 pm
Oh and on a side note with those agreeing with this old bat, are you bonkers? Regardless of the situation this sort of treatment is not acceptable ANYWHERE. There is NEVER any reason to be rude or Personally attack a potential customer, and if you otherwise then I only hope that you are dealt the same treatment one day and see how much to like or agree with it then!
December 20th, 2007 at 3:28 pm
1997 called – They want their website back.
December 20th, 2007 at 3:38 pm
I agree with Vixx and Jessica, people like Margaret McHugh are corporate dinosaurs its time for extinction. She’s destroyed herself and her reputation but thats perfectly ok it just gives room for new more talented and customer service aware people to obtain her clientelle.
December 20th, 2007 at 7:00 pm
I wish we could learn what transpired prior to these emails.
According to an article I found, Hayley appears to have been confused (understandably, given the state of the website) about pricing, and didn’t get a straight answer after sending an email at 8 am Friday morning. That is, the next communication she received was the one above, sent Monday.
Assuming this account is true, it would seem that the caterers are completely at fault here — the silence on Friday is the issue. The transaction should have been sorted out before the weekend.
However it is possible that we don’t know the whole story. But even if this is the case, Margaret should really have known better than to reply (in a written form) so vitriolically in these times…
December 20th, 2007 at 7:06 pm
Far out, what a nutter, the website is utter crap, who would order something when a company has a website like that.
December 21st, 2007 at 5:03 am
OMG !! Did a 10 year old do that web site? Looks like a crappy Warez site.
December 21st, 2007 at 7:26 am
Reading, your comments in the herald this morning you said your website had received 20,000 hits in the past 48 hours, “which just goes to show any publicity is good publicity”. Duh.. just because it gets heaps of hits is not good thing and I could probably say none of these were orders RATHER they were only there after reading your emails and your poor excuse for customer service , and to get a bloody good laugh at your 1970’s website…
Get in the real world…
December 21st, 2007 at 11:44 am
Best viewed with 800×600 Internet Explorer 4. Classic. A step back in time…
btw, where is the full email thread? Maybe Hayley was a real cow? But hey, even if the customer was an ass, emailing them and telling them so is definitely a “recipe” for disaster…
merry christmas
December 21st, 2007 at 12:32 pm
Y’know just out of curiousity, I checked their web site after reading all the comments, and I have to say, even without this lady’s e-mail, I would *never* use this company.
Right on the front page it says “Menu items subject to change without notice” , then a little further down, “Prices subject to change at Management’s discretion and without notice…”.
So, essentially, hire us and we’ll serve you what we feel like and charge you what we want to, no matter what you’ve agreed to or ordered.
.
Not for my money, thanks.
December 22nd, 2007 at 5:58 am
I hate to generalise, but there’s something about certain NZ women in their 50s, which is exemplified by this catering exchange, and also your coffee shop story here http://www.nzherald.co.nz/column/story.cfm?c_id=702&objectid=10483590
Why does this age bracket sometimes cause such aggression, a move to a completely black wardrobe, and also the choice between over-the-top luvviness or a spiky-dikey hair-do?
None of which is necessarily bad (even the aggro, sometimes) but all of which is rather perplexing.
December 23rd, 2007 at 3:36 am
Toothpick…being just out of the age bracket you mention I am appalled to think I may be classified alongside this maven of bad taste and terrible manners. Not all women ‘of a certain age’ are aggressive. I do confess to arrogance from time to time but when I work with clients I work to ensure I meet their needs above and beyond. It does not hurt to write a pleasant email.
“Dear Hayley,
Thank you for your order. I would be delighted to cater your function on ….. Please be mindful, however, that due to the short notice I may not be able to provide everything on your menu nor confirm costs until Monday. It will be necessary for you to confirm numbers to me no later than…
Would you please let me know as soon as possible if this is satisfactory?
I look forward to hearing from you as soon as possible, so that I can provide you with the best possible service.
Have a great day!
December 23rd, 2007 at 7:11 am
Sorry, Trishytroo, generalisations are always unfair, and I can see you’re not one of those I’m referring to. None the less I still can’t work out why so many of those women do exist.
(I’d also add another sweeping generalisation about the arrogant rudeness of NZ men in their 60s-70s, but in aggregate that may make me seem just plain ageist, rather than my current crime of being sexist!)
December 23rd, 2007 at 5:09 pm
I not only can’t believe that she is this nasty but her latest response that is in todays newspaper is that she is getting lots of hate emails and is hunting every one of them down to get them in trouble with their jobs. My question is this. If she has the time to do that then WHY didn’t she have to time to answer all the questions that were asked of her to begin with. She is a nasty woman that needs to be brought down a peg. ALSO I have to agree with so many on here. The blinking on that website not only hurt my eyes but made me feel sick. SHAME ON HER…if she can’t handle the heat then she needs to get out of the kitchen
December 23rd, 2007 at 6:00 pm
Toothpick – yes! you are right! Men of that age can be very rude!
If nothing else, this blog has made me revist my dealings with people to ensure I do not come across in the same way as the unfortunate subject of this thread!!
December 24th, 2007 at 7:19 am
The thing is that she could have turned down the last minute order. She could have done it very pleasantly and Hayley would simply have had to get organized and find another caterer.
However, that being said, just think how much fun we all would have missed!!
Business is Business – some customers you need to stroke, some you don’t need. Its knowing the difference and handling it in a professional manner.
January 3rd, 2008 at 9:30 am
Hey guys, I’m a caterer and I have to say its amazing that a caterer with such bad client skills is still in business, I cheaked out the second message as well, its kind of cringe material. We are flat out at Christmas time but you always make room for your clients and if they havn’t gotten back to you, then you call them!!Its about fixing a mistake before it happens. I’m sure Margaret is full of regret but still following her “Not my falt attitude” Silly lady.
January 4th, 2008 at 5:21 am
Toothpick,
I’m a Kiwi woman in my forties myself, and I agree with you about certain Kiwi women in their fifties. I think it is associated with menopause. Some women that age are very nasty, particularly to younger women as Hayley probably is. I call it Ovulation Envy. When I was in my childbearing years (late twenties to mid thirties) and visibly pregnant and/or with babies or toddlers with me, most people of both sexes were very nice to me but a few women in their fifties went out of their way to be nasty to me. Woman busdrivers dropping the clutch every time I was walking down the aisle, woman shopkeepers and hairdressers pointedly ignoring me while I wated to be served, even one old bat in ChCh who looked at my three young children, looked at my pregnant belly and then gave me a Hate Stare. These old cows need Hormone Replacement Therapy to adjust their personalities.
January 8th, 2008 at 9:38 am
The legal fraternity should be having a field day with this especially Ray Whites legal division. Sue MM for Defamation of Character!!
Looks like MM’s quoting policies could do with an upgrade. She could simply put that orders need to be confirmed within 24/48hrs before the function.
January 9th, 2008 at 12:46 pm
Is this thread still going?
‘certain age’ LOL
Happy New Year to all!
I have decided to contact Ray White Realty and offer my Event Planning services to them even though I am a woman of a
January 25th, 2008 at 3:22 pm
Margaret…you go girl!
April 10th, 2008 at 12:49 am
The ‘Rude’ saga finally makes it to Kenya! Good laugh!
May 5th, 2008 at 10:10 pm
Still raising a laugh, way on into May! How come the silly woman’s ghastly website is still touting for Xmas business?
June 2nd, 2008 at 10:37 am
I am a proffesional event manager. You do gate things come up at last moment and you need great companies to help pull it off for you. In this case I would suggest that it is a bit late requesting a quote for catering over Xmas _ HOWEVER she is not putting in an order, She has mearly requested a quote. This doesnt constitute that you want this woman to cater the event.
If this woman needed to know if she was needed a polite “may I ask if my quote was acceptable” email would suffice. If no responce then I suggest NOT. I really dont know what is so hard to understand here?